This fireside address was given on 28 September 1986 in the Marriott Center.
 

      A few weeks ago, Elder and Sister F. Arthur Kay and I arrived on the beautiful and exotic island of
      Tahiti. Our flight arrived at the Papeete airport at about four in the morning. We were met at the
      airport by a group of local Church leaders headed by our Regional

      Representative, Victor Cave. We quickly assembled our bags and headed for the hotel to get
      what rest we could before the day's activities began. Our route took us through the deserted, dimly
      lighted streets of Papeete. In the dark we saw the faint figure of a man crossing the street in front
      of Brother Cave's car. He gave the man a lot of room and said to Brother and Sister Kay: "That
      man is Brother So-and-so. He is hurrying to get to the temple. The first session of the temple
      doesn't begin until nine o'clock, but he wants to be there well in advance." "How far away does he
      live?" asked Brother Kay. The answer: "Two or three blocks." Brother Cave indicated that the
      caretakers open the temple gates early, and this man comes in and watches the day begin within
      the sacred precincts of the beautiful temple in Papeete.

      I marveled at the faith of this simple man who is willing to forgo his sleep and other activities in
      order to follow this ritual of meditation and contemplation. Some would no doubt say, "How foolish,
      how wasteful of time that could be spent sleeping or studying." I

      choose to hope that in these programmed hours of meditation and contemplation this faithful little
      man is coming to know himself and his Creator.

      NURTURING A SIMPLE FAITH

      I should like to speak this evening of the need to nurture a simple, untroubled faith. I urge complete
      acceptance of the absolutes of our own faith. At the same time, I urge you not to be unduly
      concerned over the intricacies, the complexities, and any seeming contradictions that seem to
      trouble many of us. Sometimes we spend time satisfying our intellectual egos and look for all the
      answers before we accept any. Here at Brigham Young University we are in the pursuit of truth and
      knowledge. The nurturing of a simple untroubled faith does not limit us in the pursuit of growth and
      accomplishment. On the contrary, it may intensify and hasten our progress. This is so because our
      natural gifts and powers of achievement are increasingly enhanced by the endless growth of
      knowledge. In our belief, it is possible to be even the helper of the Father and of the Son, and to
      be under their personal tutelage. Nephi explained that his brethren had become so wicked and
      insensitive to the Spirit that they became "past feeling" even though they had seen and heard an
      angel, and even though God had spoken to them in a still small voice (see I Nephi 17:45).

      In contrast, this same prophet Nephi tells us that if we "feast upon the words of Christ ... the words
      of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:3).

      I have a dear friend with whom I grew up. Although bright and able, he was not a scholarly type.
      The press of family needs and concerns limited his educational opportunities. He did not graduate
      from high school. He acquired an old, beat-up truck and began hauling sand and gravel for a few
      of the contractors. The work was seasonal and not at all productive. The old truck would frequently
      break down and need repairs. In his teenage years he drifted some, but married a good woman
      and settled down. Their circumstances were economically straitened, but somehow he managed
      to get a house built on part of the family property. I was bishop and caged him to be the Aaronic
      Priesthood adviser. He took his calling seriously. He literally wore out the handbook, studying it.
      He had a notebook filled with dates when all of the young men in the ward would reach the age to
      be advanced in the Aaronic

      Priesthood. He kept good track of the young men and kept the bishopric informed of their
      activities.

      Some years after I was released, he became a member of our bishopric. He needed a little
      nudging to become a full tithe payer, but responded faithfully as he had done before.
      Subsequently, he became our bishop. He served wonderfully and well. In the meantime, he and an
      associate had learned how to lay bricks and formed a brick-contracting partnership. The
      difference between their work and the work of others was in the quality. They did beautiful work.
      They were in demand. He prospered and became very respected in the community. He became
      the president of the local water company. After many successful years as a bishop he was called
      to the high council and served well and faithfully. He is now a man of affairs, respected and
      honored, although his formal education ended before high school graduation. With the advantage
      of a college education he, no doubt, would have achieved even more.

      What caused him to succeed? Industry? Thrift? Self-reliance? Yes, but there was more.
      Conscientiously and untiringly, he sought to know and do the mind and the will of the Lord. He had
      a simple, untroubled faith.

      "STICK WITH THE BRETHREN" Our religion fosters the opportunity to come back into the
      presence of the Father and the Son, and it contemplates a future perfection of the human spirit
      and soul. This is a preferential condition in the hereafter. Why, then, should we be preoccupied
      unnecessarily with too many mysteries? In fact, the worldwide mission of the Church can be simply
      stated. It is to perfect the Saints, proclaim the gospel, and redeem the dead.

      President Stephen L Richards explained it this way: "The immortal soul which is the union of body
      and spirit becomes invested with the divine nature of our eternal Father and ... Jesus Christ"
      (Stephen L Richards, CR, April 1945, p. 30). That investment of the divine nature intensifies and
      magnifies our gifts and abilities. There is no greater teacher, no greater strength than the divine
      nature of the eternal Father and Jesus Christ.

      By this time next week, another general conference Will have come and gone. Many may wonder
      what the Brethren are saying. Many will want to know. Others may not care. Before I had a seat in
      general conference, I tried to listen, either by television or radio, to the conference proceedings.
      One Saturday, on the opening of general conference, my youngest son and I went out to hunt
      ducks on the day the season opened. Of course, we listened on the car radio on the way and took
      a portable radio to listen in the duck blind. The season shooting began at twelve noon, so we were
      able to hear the morning's proceedings. My son had an assignment in seminary to review the
      conference messages. We listened faithfully to all of the messages on Saturday morning. The
      shooting was over by one o'clock, and we listened to the afternoon's proceedings. As we were
      picking up our decays and heading back to the car, my son thoughtfully said: "What are the
      Brethren saying?" He was trying to understand the grand overarching and undergirding
      messages. What will the Brethren be saying next weekend? The living prophets will be opening
      the visions of eternity and giving counsel on how to overcome the world. We cannot know if we do
      not listen. We cannot receive the blessings if we do not follow the counsel given.

      As a young stake president, I had most of the General Authorities as stake conference visitors to
      our stake. I can tell you that was a great experience! President Hugh B. Brown came to one of our
      stake conferences just a week before he was called and sustained as a member of the Council of
      the Twelve. We enjoyed his warm spirit and his good humor. As I helped him with his coat and he
      walked out to his car to leave us, I said: "Brother Brown, do you have any personal advice for
      me?" His answer was: "Yes, stick with the Brethren." He did not choose to elaborate or explain but
      left that indelible message: have the simple faith to follow the Brethren.

      My grandmother, Maud Wetzel Faust, used to tell us as little boys about going to general
      conference when President Brigham Young presided. She also told us about the first train that
      came to Salt Lake City. Except for the Prophet Joseph Smith, she had known all of the Presidents
      of the Church up to Heber J. Grant. From her observations over the years, she had this to say:
      "Those who have turned their backs on the Brethren have not prospered." Then she proceeded to
      tell of a few examples.

      What caused her to impart this lesson to her grandsons I do not know, but I would certainly wish all
      within the sound of my voice to have the simple faith to "stick with the Brethren."

      We acknowledge that an Church leaders, past and present-except Christ himself-were human.
      The critics of the Church are wont to discredit this marvelous work because of the human
      weaknesses of its leaders. President Gordon B. Hinckley said at your sister campus in Hawaii a
      few years ago, "To highlight the mistakes and gloss over the greater good is to draw a caricature.
      Caricatures are amusing, but they are often ugly and dishonest. A man may have a wart on his
      cheek and still have a face of beauty and strength, but if the wart is emphasized unduly in relation
      to his other features, the portrait is lacking in integrity." President Hinckley continued speaking of
      the early leaders of the Church: "If some of them occasionally stumbled, or if their characters may
      have been slightly flawed in one way or another, the wonder is the greater that they accomplished
      so much" (Gordon B. Hinckley, BYU-Hawaii commencement address, June 18, 1983). The same
      is true today.

      In an urgent plea for the Saints to concern themselves with the common things, President Wilford
      Woodruff had this counsel:

      How much longer I shall talk to this people I do not know; but I want to say this to all Israel: Cease
      troubling yourselves about who God is, who Adam is, who Christ is, who Jehovah is. For heaven's
      sake, let these things alone. Why trouble yourselves about these things. God has revealed himself,
      and when the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants is fulfilled, whether there be one God
      or many gods, they will be revealed to the children of men, as well as all thrones and dominions,
      principalities, and powers. Then why trouble yourselves about these things? God is God. Christ is
      Christ. The Holy Ghost is the Holy Ghost. That should be enough for you and me to know. If we
      want to know any more, wait till we get where God is in person. I say this because we are troubled
      every little while with inquires from elders anxious to know who God is, who Christ is, and who
      Adam is. I say to the elders of Israel, stop this. Humble yourselves before the Lord; seek for light,
      for truth, and for a knowledge of the common things of the kingdom of God. [The Discourses of
      Wilford Woodruff, pp. 235-36]

      MAKING A SOLID FOUNDATION

      To have a simple, untroubled faith you must keep your spiritual innocence. That requires avoiding
      cynicism and criticism. This is the day of the cynic, the critics, and the pickle suckers. Said
      President Hinckley, "Criticism is the forerunner of divorce, the cultivator of rebellion, sometimes a
      catalyst that leads to failure. In the Church it sows the seed of inactivity and finally apostasy"
      (Gordon B. Hinckley, BYU-Hawaii commencement address, June 18, 1983).

      For some years now I have appreciated sharing a common reception room at the Church
      Administration Building with David M. Kennedy. I appreciate my personal relationship with him.
      After having been called to the Council of the Twelve Apostles, I was walking out of the Tabernacle
      with Elder Kennedy. I said to him: "David, there must be ten thousand men in this Church more
      able and qualified to serve in the Council of the Twelve than I am." Brother Kennedy: "No, fifteen
      thousand."

      Brother Kennedy has had a most remarkable career in government, in business, and in the
      Church. Yet I have found him to be a man of simple faith. He has been secretary of the treasury of
      the United States, ambassador-at-large, ambassador to NATO, and president and chairman of
      Continental Illinois Bank. He has also been a missionary, secretary of the mission, bishop, a
      member of a stake presidency, and now is serving as special ambassador of the First
      Presidency. The David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies on this campus memorializes
      his life and his name.

      He has met with a host of kings, presidents, and heads of state in his lifetime. Yet his faith is
      basic, pure, and unshakable. He knows where he came from, who he is, where he is going, and
      what is most important in his life. He received this orientation from his father. When young David
      asked his father, "What are we supposed to be doing here on earth?" his father replied, "We are
      supposed to be serving God and our fellowman. "

      To have a simple, untroubled faith we must accept some absolutes.

      They are basic. They are to believe:

      1.That Jesus, the son of the Father, is the Christ and the Savior and Redeemer of the world. 2.
      That Joseph Smith was the instrument through which the gospel was restored in its fullness and
      completeness.

      3. That the Book of Mormon is the word of God and, as the Prophet Joseph Smith said, it is the
      keystone of our religion. 4. That Ezra Taft Benson is, as were each of his predecessor Presidents
      of the Church, a successor in holding the keys and authority restored by Joseph Smith. You may
      ask, "How can I acquire an untroubled faith and a spiritual assurance that each of these absolutes
      is true?" This untroubled faith can come by prayer, study, and a submissive willingness to keep as
      many commandments as we can. Let us be more specific.

      As to the first absolute, the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, we have two thousand years of
      teaching and tradition that help the inquirers accept him as their Savior and Redeemer. So this
      absolute, initially at least, may be the easiest to accept after study, prayer, and trying to follow his
      teachings.

      The second absolute, the calling of Joseph Smith as the restoration prophet, may be more difficult
      for the honest seeker to accept. To have a fair appreciation for the greatness of Joseph Smith's
      mission, we must step back and view the panorama of it all. To me the only logical explanation for
      the majesty and success of his work is that he saw what he said he saw, and he was what he said
      he was. What he restored is so complete, so all encompassing in concept, so majestic and
      awesome in potential, that only God himself could have been the author and motivating force
      behind it. The fruits of Joseph Smith's work, so plain for all to see, are also a testimony of the
      divinity of his work.

      The third absolute, namely, a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, in my opinion
      comes exactly as Moroni stated, by the power of the Holy Ghost, by asking God, the Eternal
      Father, in the name of Christ if it is true. The promise then comes: "If ye shall ask with a sincere
      heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of
      the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:4).

      The fourth absolute is essential to enjoy an untroubled faith. It

      is the proposition that President Ezra Taft Benson is the inheritor of the restored keys as was
      each of his predecessors since Joseph Smith. Some accept the Savior, the divine mission of
      Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon, but then think that after Joseph's time somehow the
      Brethren went astray. Many who have thought this have taken others with them, and their efforts
      have not prospered.

      There is a powerful precedent that comes down through the ages to sustain the succession of
      authority. After the crucifixion of the Savior, Peter, as the senior apostle, became the President of
      the Church. Since the restoration by Joseph Smith this practice has been followed in the
      successions to the Presidency of the Church.

      As each of the apostles has been ordained to the apostleship and Quorum of the Twelve, he is
      given all of the keys of the kingdom of God on the earth, some of which are to be held inactive until
      the death of the President of the Church. Upon the death of the President of the Church, the keys
      rest with the Quorum of the Twelve as a body. When a new President is ordained and set apart,
      the Council of the Twelve unitedly lay their hands upon his head and activate the keys he has held
      since he came to the Quorum of the Twelve. It has been so since Peter, James, and John
      bestowed the keys upon the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was so with President Ezra Taft Benson.

      Because of this transferring of keys and authority, we can truthfully say, since there is ultimate
      priesthood authority on the earth today, that President Benson has it.

      The acceptance of these four absolutes, together with the ordinances as administered by the
      Church and obedience thereto, is a solid foundation for the enjoyment of the promise of the
      Savior, i.e., peace in this life and eternal life in the life hereafter (see D&C 59:23).

      Third from last, like that little man crossing the street in Papeete at 4:00 a. m. hurrying to the
      temple, we can enjoy an untroubled conscience in the temples of God.

      Next to last, I wish to bear testimony that having a simple, untroubled faith will lift us above selfish,
      sordid, and greedy aspects of the world.

      Last of all, I bear witness as one of the special witnesses that the Father and the Son did appear
      to the boy Joseph Smith, and that he was given direction to reestablish the Church upon the earth
      in its fullness. I also testify of the divine and truthful message of the Book of Mormon. I believe that
      President Ezra Taft Benson holds all of the keys and authority to administer the affairs of the
      kingdom of God on the earth, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.